


Two Faces

by FemaleSpock



Series: The Empire has Two Faces [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: (kind of), Assassination Attempt(s), Emperor Hux, Emperor Ren, Evil Space Husbands, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, M/M, Politics, Rating May Change, Secret Relationship, but they pretend it's just a marriage of political convenience, everyone knows they are married
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-18
Updated: 2018-01-09
Packaged: 2018-06-09 06:43:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 19,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6894256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FemaleSpock/pseuds/FemaleSpock
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Order in the Galaxy! </p>
<p>After Snoke's defeat, a new empire was born, with dual Emperors (Hux and Ren) at the helm and they have ushered in a new era of stability in the galaxy. But all is not perfect in this new empire, as attempts on the lives of the Emperors become increasingly common. And what of the Resistance? Their forces were devasted by Snoke; Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, padawan Rey, and former-Stormtrooper Finn, were amongst the casualties. But hope still remains! General Leia Organa survived. Will mother and son once again come into conflict and change the shape of the galaxy? </p>
<p>-</p>
<p>Sequel to Focus but you don't have to have read it, the summary tells you all you need to know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

_Order in the Galaxy!_

_After Snoke's defeat, a new empire was born, with dual Emperors (Hux and Ren) at the helm and they have ushered in a new era of stability in the galaxy. But all is not perfect in this new empire, as attempts on the lives of the Emperors become increasingly common. And what of the Resistance? Their forces were devasted by Snoke; Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, padawan Rey, and former-Stormtrooper Finn, were amongst the casualties. But hope still remains! General Leia Organa survived. Will mother and son once again come into conflict and change the shape of the galaxy?_

* * *

 

On sight, there was no way to distinguish the man from any other. He was just one more helmet in a sea of white plasteel armour. The helmets were mass-produced, without blemish or accent, expressionless and calm. They were the face of the Empire as much as either Emperor.

 

There was no way to know that the man burned inside.

 

Or there shouldn’t have been. His face was twisted into a grimace behind the mask but that had felt safe. Relatively speaking. He was trembling beneath his armour, a potent mix of fear and anger running through his veins. They couldn’t see that either. He liked this armour more than he had thought he would when he first put it on. He indulged himself in soft thoughts now and again, sweet thoughts of another who had worn this uniform, but they always turned sour within moments of the imaginings. Memories offered him more than comfort: they gave him fuel for the fire of his rage.

 

Hux, former General, current Emperor, was making a speech now. His chest was puffed up, his face slightly red, spitting in anger. This was not the face he presented to the general public. This was just a face for stormtroopers. The arena was circled by LAAT-gunships to keep intruders out.

 

But there the man was, watching Hux rant and rave.

 

What did he have to be angry about? The way he saw it, Hux had everything. He had successfully executed a coup to overthrow his former leader and established a new Empire, run by the First Order. The Order’s territory had only steadily grown. He was shackled to a monster, of course, a monster who shared his title and his bed. The man hated Hux, in the abstract. He would be happy to see him fall. It was inevitable. Empires built on treachery eventually collapsed – he’d been raised on that truth since he was a boy – though it was the duty of good people to give speed to the decline.

 

The man was a good person, once. He was a weapon now.

 

Ren was standing next to his co-Emperor, his _husband,_ but it would be a stretch to say that they were stood together. There was a gap between the two and his body was angled ever so slightly out from Hux. He wore a glazed expression on his face, mouth still and ever so slightly downturned. He looked _bored._

Somehow this was worse than if he were up there smirking. He hadn’t earned boredom or discontent and he deserved so much worse.

 

He would get it soon enough.

 

Then, it happened. Ren’s head swivelled abruptly in his direction, dark eyes training on him. The man froze where he stood. Hux’s eyes flickered over to Ren, annoyed. Ren held the stare, eyes narrowing. The man was sure now, he had been seen. Adrenaline fizzed in his veins, screaming at him to just run, but he was surrounded on every side. He tensed his muscles and stood his ground. Ren pursed his lips. The man closed his eyes and waited for it, clinching body and mind to brace for the inevitable assault.

 

Nothing came.

 

He opened his eyes, unable to take the darkness anymore.

 

Ren looked at him for a moment longer before his head whipped around. Hux slid to the side, hitting the ground. A sudden hiss of noise. A sudden flash of bright blue-white light. Troopers turning in unison.

 

The man turned too, a minute too late, but no-one noticed.

 

There was a barrage of shooting and a sudden thud. It was a body, the man realised later. It had fallen from one of the gunships.

 

“There is no need to panic,” said Emperor Hux, though none of the troopers showed any signs of doing so.

 

They all turned at the sound of his voice. The man turned too.

 

“You have proved yourself capable of dealing with any threat. We possess the greatest Force in the Galaxy and that it why the Empire will continue to flourish, even as our enemies are destroyed! Let this stand as a warning to those who might dream of crossing the Empire. We are strong. Together.”

 

Hux took Ren’s hand. Ren had already been wearing an expression of pure irritation since the attack but his lip actually curled at this. Ren allowed his hand to be taken and thrust in the air, putting none of his muscle into the movement himself. A sly smile had crossed Hux’s face, which was far to composed for someone who had just been the victim of an assassination attempt.

 

The man had heard that the marriage was a sham and evidently it was true.

 

“For the Empire!” Hux screamed out.

 

The troopers pushed their fists into the air and so the man did it too.

 

He walked past the body of the would-be assassin. He was human, blonde, dressed in the uniform of the First Order, though that meant nothing. He knew all too well clothing could deceive.

 

Looking at his body, the man had two thoughts, in order.

 

He was sorry the man hadn’t succeeded.

 

He was glad his death had provided a distraction.

 

“Come on, don’t stare!” another trooper cajoled him. The man marched out, away from Ren, into relative safety.

 

* * *

 

Hux said nothing as Kylo stormed through the door of his room. In fact, he didn’t look up from his datapad. The problem with assassination attempts was that they created paperwork and press releases and all manner of other nuisances. Kylo’s body flopped violently onto the bed, and the bedsprings didn’t so much groan, as yelp.

 

“You’re welcome,” Kylo muttered, when it was clear no comment from his husband was forthcoming.

 

“Mmmmm,” said Hux, looking up. “Oh yes, that.”

 

“Oh yes, that,” Kylo repeated, in disbelief. “Oh yes, that. Just that.”

 

“Well, if you could just keep your little faction in control!” Hux shouted, his voice rising abruptly.

 

“My faction! This had nothing to do with me. You have many enemies, Emperor, many who would like nothing more than to see you dead…”

 

“Careful Ren, that your treasonous impulses don’t interfere with the goals of _our_ Empire.”

 

“Take your own advice and be _careful._ You never know when the next assassin might strike.”

 

“Is that a threat?” Hux had his head held high, eyes steely.

 

 Kylo had seen that look on Hux’s face many times before they were together and more than occasionally afterwards.

 

“Take it any way you like,” he growled back.

 

“Alright, I think that’s enough for now,” said Hux, lowering his tone considerably, his face softening fractionally.

 

Kylo sighed. “We didn’t even get to the good part.”

 

Hux frowned. “What’s the good part? No wait, never mind. I don’t even want to know,” he scrolled through messages on his datapad. “You did well today. You looked extremely sullen. If I hadn’t known better, I really would have thought you wanted me executed.”

 

He grinned. “And I warned you about the assassin.”

 

Hux smiled, indulgently. “And you warned me about the assassin.”

 

“It was a close call,” Kylo said, chewing on his lip, thoughtful. “Had you moved a fraction slower, that blaster bolt would have hit you."

 

“My reflexes are excellent. There was no way that was going to hit me.” He waved a dismissive hand.

 

“How many attacks is that this month? They’re starting to think that you’re Force-sensitive yourself.” They were also calling him ‘the Invincible Emperor’ but Kylo didn’t think that Hux’s ego needed that kind of boost.

 

“Five against my person, two against yours,” said Hux, without even having to think about it. He watched as Kylo stared off into space, clearly thinking (clearly worrying). “I know, it tears you up inside that I’m more popular with these assassin types than you are, but I just can’t help it. You’re much too scary to try to attack – truly there is no-one foolish enough to think that they can match your skills in combat. I, on the other hand, attract jealousy for my political acumen – which many are foolish enough to believe they can match.”

 

“You are not funny,” said Kylo, flatly.

 

“Who’s being funny?” He reached out and took Kylo’s hand in his own, stroking his thumb. “You overthrew Snoke. I established our Empire. Together, we’re untouchable.”

 

They exchanged grins. In that moment, Kylo believed it. No-one knew it but them, but they were together and they were untouchable.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Does that happen often? The assassination attempt, I mean. Must keep things kind of interesting,” FN-9713 said. It was 1805 and several troopers had just started their standard recreation period, left alone and unsupervised in a common room area.

 

Yipee and HaterJ exchanged looks through their helmets. It was not the sort of question a trooper should ask but FN-9713 had arrived on the base a few days ago (and thus lacked a nickname) and clearly didn’t know the rules yet.

 

“We do our duty when it is necessary. There are many evil agents who would seek to destroy the Empire from the outside,” said HaterJ, giving the approved response.

 

“ _Anyway,_ ” said Yipee, looking up at the clock on the wall. “Where are Ajay 10 and Innuendo? They’re usually here by now.”

 

“Isn’t it unusual, you all being such close friends? You’re not even in the same unit,” FN-9713 asked.

 

They exchanged looks. They didn’t want to tell their new recruit that the reason they all got on so well was _because_ they belonged to different units. Excessive compassion for your squad-mates was not encouraged. It was logical: if you got too friendly with your unit, you wouldn’t think straight. You would be selfish. You would put your own needs before that of the Empire. The Empire had bestowed the gift of order on the galaxy – it was worth the sacrifice of their lives. Any one of them was expendable for the sake of stability but no-one wanted to go into battle thinking they’d have to leave a friend behind.

 

No, it was safer to make your friends outside your own unit.

 

“As you can see, our rec time is scheduled for the same times,” HaterJ explained.

 

“You ask so many questions,” said Yippee, lightly. “I think we should call you that.”

 

“Call me what?”

 

“Questions.” Yippee was grinning beneath her helmet.

 

“Don’t question it,” said HaterJ, waving a hand before the other trooper had a chance to speak. “I protested mine for months but it stuck anyway.”

 

“But according to my nickname, question is what I do best,” said Questions.

 

The door swung open, drowning out HaterJ’s response and in walked Ajay 10 and Innuendo.

 

“Where’ve you guys been?” asked Yipee. “Rec started 10 minutes ago.”

 

“I promised to lend an e-book to Innuendo so I had to get my datapad to send it over,” said Ajay 10.

 

Innuendo nodded. “It’s one his romance novels but he’s promised some steamy action so…”

 

HaterJ shook his head. “I’m honestly not sure which of you is worse.”

 

“Oh come on, it’s the classic love story between an Emperor and his right-hand man.”

 

“Would the Emperor’s right-hand man happen to have Force powers by any chance?” Yippee guessed.

 

“No. Well, he has magic powers. It’s set in a sort of fantasy kingdom. It’s actually really cool, there are all these-”

 

“It’s Palpatine/Vader romance with the names changed, isn’t it?” said Yippee said, cutting through Ajay’s enthusiastic babbling.

 

“It might be…”

 

Questions made a slight gagging sound.

 

“Actually, you can have it back,” said Innuendo. “Emperor Palpatine doesn’t really do it for me.”

 

“He’s young and hot in the book though! And he has red hair, like Emperor Hux!” Ajay 10 protested.

 

“Let’s get off this topic,” said HaterJ.

 

“Agreed,” said Questions strongly.

 

Ajay 10 sighed. “Fine. What were you talking about before we got here?”

 

“We just gave FN-9713 here a nickname – Questions.”

 

“Questions,” pondered Innuendo. “That’s not bad. Not as good as mine, of course, but definitely better than old HaterJ over here.”

 

“I never wanted to be called that in the first place!” he protested and everyone laughed.

 

* * *

 

“Sorry if I interrupted you talking about your hobbies,” Questions said, speeding up to walk alongside Ajay 10. Rec had just ended and they had all gone their separate ways, to get back to work.

 

“It’s alright. I know no-one else shares my love of dramas and romance novels. It’s just something to pass the time between battles, something to think about.” He paused before hastily adding:  “Of course, troopers are barred from forming romantic attachments but it’s fun to read about in fiction.”

 

“What about the Emperors?” asked Questions, casually. “I hear they’re not so in love.”

 

Ajay 10 looked around to check no-one was looking and lowered his voice. “Well, it depends on who you ask. Yippee swears they’re head over heels for each other and several troopers who have been on guard duty outside their room have sworn that they’ve heard things….screaming arguments are common but there have also been other sounds. Apparently.”

 

Questions was silent for a while, apparently mulling over this information. “Well, I’ve got to get back to my station. I’ll see you later, Ajay 10.”

 

Ajay 10 had the sudden and sinking feeling that he had said something he shouldn’t have. He took a breath and tried to calm himself. It was nothing, he was just being paranoid. It wasn’t like he had anything to hide. Thinking about breaking the rules wasn’t the same as actually breaking them. It wasn’t like the person he liked would actually like him back anyway. It was almost better this way. This way he wouldn’t be tempted to betray the rules of the Order.

 

* * *

 

“We’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up,” said Hux, standing by the door. He had been standing there, ready to go, for the last five minutes.

 

“How can we be late if it’s our event?” muttered Kylo.

 

Hux tapped his foot. “Just hurry up.”

 

There was the sound of something dropping in the bathroom. “Why don’t you just go first? We want people to think we hate each other so it really doesn’t matter if we go together or not.”

 

“We want people to think that we don’t want them to know that we hate each other, that we’re making an appearance at unity despite our differences.”

 

Kylo finally stepped out of the bathroom. He was wearing flowing black robes, with accents of silver running along the seams: practical – in case of an emergency – but prettier than his everyday wear. He had the slightest hint of silver eyeliner around his eyes, which only accentuated their dark depths.

 

“This is far too complicated,” he said. 

 

It took Hux a minute to realise he was talking about the charade, not his clothing. “Well, no-one said ruling the galaxy was going to be easy.”

 

“I hate all this court stuff. Making small-talk with tedious politicians, having to smile at the members of my little faction like I don’t hate the way they think about killing you and taking your place, exchanging petty barbs with members of _your_ faction,” he whined. “Give me an enemy I can run through with a lightsaber.”

 

Hux smiled. “I’m sure the opportunity will present itself at some point. Maybe someone will be foolish enough to repeat Senator Kilash’s mistake and poison your wine again. Come one, we really must go now.”

 

Kylo linked arms with Hux and they walked out the room, making sure to keep their expressions haughty and distant. Kylo supposed it came easy to Hux but it was a constant strain on him to try and keep his face still. It was times like this that he wished desperately for his old mask. He’d left it behind and Hux had destroyed it – there was no going back to it now. He could get another but what was the point? The entire galaxy had seen his face by now.

 

* * *

 

The man waited outside the Imperial ballroom. This was it. This was his chance. He hadn’t lingered over the plan long. Ren was onto him – he had been looking right at him before. He needed to act now, whilst they were distracted.

 

He was the instrument of his own revenge.

 

He would kill Ren this night. Hux too, if he could manage it.

 

He would die himself. It was inevitable. He was surrounded by Imperials on all sides.

 

He didn’t mind. Everyone else was dead already.

 

He should never have been left behind.

 

* * *

 

The terrible irony of Kylo’s situation was that there was precisely one person he had any interest in talking to at this function and he was the one person he was expressly barred from talking to aside from the barest of exchanges. Even Phasma would be better company than those he had to engage with now. She at least was straightforward. The court was a pit of vipers, though they all pretended otherwise, concealing their ambitions behind elaborate fashions and bright smiles. Some of them were former members of the Republic, vying for power. Some of them were still New Republicans in their hearts and they were just standing there waiting for a crack in the system to appear. Some of them had always been faithful to the Order’s ideals so far as they had served their own careers. They were the most smug of all. 

 

He couldn’t abide any of them.  

 

He almost wished the Knights were there but they had been scattered across the Galaxy, on various errands for Snoke. He hadn’t heard from any of them since Snoke’s murder, though surely they must have heard. He had tried to reach out to them, broadcasting with his mind, but he had received nothing but silence back.

 

It gnawed at him.

 

He wanted to believe that they would be faithful. He was their master – but then, Snoke had been his and he had betrayed him in the end. He was no better than anyone else here.

 

“Excuse me, Emperor Ren. I don’t wish to disturb you when you’re clearly so deep in thought but I thought I should introduce myself.”

 

Kylo blinked and his eyes refocused on the man in front of him. He was several inches shorter than Kylo and of slight build. He had dark blonde hair pulled back into a long ponytail. There was a slight buzz to his presence as Kylo sensed it through the Force. That wasn't unusual for the people gathered here - it was a classic signpost of over-indulgence in alcohol, or worse, spice. 

 

“Who are you?” Kylo asked, bluntly. The man looked familiar to him but maybe it was just that he had seen his type before – pristine clothing, upright posture. He looked like a classic officer type but he had certainly never served aboard with Finalizer. 

 

“I am Ridal Kep. I was the unofficial ambassador for the First Order. It was my job to persuade planets on the borders of the New Republic to defect to our side without having to involve military force, although, recent events have rather rendered my role rather obsolete.”

 

Did he want an apology? Kylo couldn’t sense much off him, his mind was rather closed, much like Hux’s had been when he had first met him. He wasn’t going to get one even if he did want one. “I’m sure it must be a relief to see the efforts of the Order rewarded,” he said, channelling Hux as best he could.

 

The man laughed. “You misunderstand me. I’m not at all angry at being put out of a job. I was on a diplomatic mission when the Hosnian System was destroyed - I’m sure you can imagine how my overtures were met. I was languishing in a prison cell for months before your troops came and conquered the planet. I am grateful, really I am.” 

 

“You’re welcome,” said Kylo, unsure as to what else the man wanted from him. He seemed to just want a captive audience whilst he talked about himself but he wasn’t sure why he had sought out Kylo specifically for this purpose. There was something hollow about this man's smile and Kylo had to wonder if the New Republic treated their prisoners the same way the Order did. The same way _he_ did. Force, he hated this. He wasn't qualified to act as a psychologist if that was what the man wanted, nor was he inclined to take on that role. He just wanted to be left alone. He craned his neck to look for Hux, finding him quickly. He was talking to a particularly boring Regional Governor but, from his expression, you would think that he was having the most fascinating conversation in the galaxy. Even if Kylo hadn’t known that the woman he was talking to was boring, he would have been able to tell just from that expression. Hux generally tried to conceal genuine expressions of interest. He tried to catch his eye across the room but he wasn’t looking up. It was probably a bad idea anyway; they weren’t supposed to look at each other.

 

Ridal was still standing there, much to Kylo’s annoyance. Couldn’t he take a hint?

 

“Actually, the reason I introduced myself is because I’m an old friend of Hux’s from the Academy. I just had to meet the man that finally got him to settle down,” said Ridal, following Kylo’s gaze.

 

Kylo had to admit that his interest had been piqued for the first time since he had been engaged in conversation. “What was he like then?” he asked. He hoped that it sounded like he was digging for information he could use, rather than asking from personal interest.

 

“Oh, Hux? Well, I mean, it’s difficult to say. I transferred into the Academy when I was 16 and honestly, when we first met, he was a bit of a wild child. His father was the Head of the Academy and it seemed to be Hux’s mission in life to piss him off.” Ridal laughed again, clearly remembering some specific incident.

 

Kylo furrowed his brow. That didn’t sound like the Hux he knew. In fact, it sounded more like him than Hux, minus the stuff about the Academy. He must have mistaken Ridal's words - or perhaps the Academy's version of wild was just not making your bed in the morning or leaving a typo in a report. “Wild, how?”

 

“Oh like, staying up all night drinking and crashing into class, too hungover to answer the simplest of questions. And he smoked a hell of a lot in those days – we shared a room and let me tell you, it reeked.”

 

Kylo just looked at Ridal blankly.

 

“He used to sneak us out sometimes – he knew all the secret ways out of the place. We used to go to bars and he’d pick up a different guy every time. He was pretty smooth. He actually introduced me to my wife at one of those bars, though neither of us thought it’d ever get that serious,” Ridal reached into his pocket and drew out a picture of a pretty woman with curly auburn hair, presumably his wife.

 

Kylo didn't care about her. There was something frozen inside his chest – he hadn’t thought about it, but he knew so little about Hux’s past. Did he really know him at all? Hux knew everything about him; he had seen him when no-one else had and Kylo had let him. It stung to think that he hadn't trusted Kylo in the same way. “How…Hux isn’t like that now.”

 

Ridal's smile faltered. "Well, no."

 

"So what happened?"

 

"In truth, I have no idea," said Ridal, tilting his head to one side. "It was rather sudden. I was in our room, sleeping. Hux hadn't come back that night but that wasn't unusual for him."

 

"Then what?" Kylo prompted, breathless. 

 

"I woke up abruptly. I remember looking at the clock by my bed. It was 0427. From the corner of my eye, I became aware of a shadow looming in the room. My first thought was kidnapper but I turned the light on and it was Hux. He was drenched. I don't know if you've ever been to Arkanis but it does almost nothing but rain there. His face was so...calm. So blank. It was kind of incongruous with the club kid outfit he was wearing. He looked beaten to hell."

 

Kylo's heart lurched. The thought of Hux hurt, even a long time ago, sent sparks of pain through him. He tried to reach out to Hux through the Force but, in the din, he could only barely sense him. He seemed fine, though Kylo supposed there was no reason he shouldn't do. He was in his element here. He could feel the barest hint of a question forming on Hux's mind and he withdrew. They would speak later, when they were alone.

 

"Are you alright?" Ridal asked, giving him a tentative poke in the arm. 

 

Kylo snapped back to reality. "Yes. Continue with the story: what happened to Hux?"

 

"Like I said, I don't really know. He wouldn't say where he had been and he didn't stay long either. He collected some things and went pretty much straight for the communal showers. By the time he came out, he was like a different person: pristine uniform, machine-like punctuality, top marks in all his classes. He had done well before but it was that kind of lazy achievement of someone who was naturally gifted and not pushing themselves. But he excelled from then onwards and I'm sure you know the rest."

 

Kylo wasn't sure he did know the rest. Not now. Hux knew everything about him but he knew almost nothing in return. Impulsively, he raised a hand to the side of his head. "I sense something. I have to go. Thank you for your time."

 

Ridal looked fascinated; he had opened his mouth to speak but Kylo swept away before he could be delayed further. He marched up to Hux, cutting through the blathering of Regional Governor Pyra. "I need to speak to you."

 

Hux pursed his lips. "Emperor Ren, I am in the middle of an important conversation about taxation on the import of Leera Fruit. Can't this wait?"

 

"No. It's a matter of Imperial security. You need to come with me now." Kylo put his hand on Hux's arm and started to pull him away. 

 

"Excuse me, Governor," said Hux, not moving an inch. 

 

Kylo met Hux's eyes. They were blazing with cold fury - real anger? Or just pretend? Kylo didn't know anymore. Hux had indicated he was willing to go but he was making no indication of moving. Hux stood there, mind clenched up so Kylo couldn't read it.

 

Oh. Kylo realised, suddenly, that Kylo dragging Hux out by the arm wouldn't look good in front of the people. Not good at all. Irritation sparked in him but he dropped Hux's arm and started to walk in the direction of an exit. He would take Hux towards a backroom, where supplies were kept - surely no-one would overhear them there.  Hux followed him. Kylo could feel all eyes on them as they moved.

 

All the lights went out before they managed to find the exit. 

 

Notes:

I thought I wasn’t going to start writing this sequel so soon after ‘A View from Below’ but what can I say? Writing it clearly just reawakened my enthusiasm for writing in this ‘verse and I got a bunch of ideas (and I'm totally doing this to avoid having to start on editing my KBB fic, nope, of course not). I have no idea how regularly I'll update this but I'll shoot for roughly a chapter a week.

 

Any comments really are much appreciated <3


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo and Hux face yet another threat of assassination and worse, have to confront the flaws in their marriage.

"Everyone stay calm and nobody move," ordered Hux, though Kylo could hear the order being disobeyed all around him. As much authority as Hux commanded, it was difficult to argue with the humanoid instinct to flee when the threat of danger emerged. 

 

Kylo reached out with the Force and felt the same presence he had felt that morning: it burned red-hot with anger, anger so strong that it flooded all other identifiers. Kylo knew that kind of rage. He spun, following the trail, ready to reach out and pull the intruder closer and then...sudden silence over the Force. It was not like an abruptly ended transmission, but like the communicating party had suddenly had a hand shoved over their mouth, muffling the sound. He kept still. He took a step back so that he could feel Hux physically, as well as mentally. If he couldn't attack the assassin directly, he could stand like a shield to protect his love. Betrayed by the Force, he tilted his head, trying to sort through the noise. But there was too much, too much chatter and movement from politicians who vastly overestimated their own importance and feared for their lives. Kylo took a stuttered breath and tried to focus. He had never been afraid to die, had even longed for it. For so long, his only fear had been of failure, of not living up to the legacy.

 

But now, he lived with fear every day: the fear that he might lose Hux and be forced to carry on without him. 

 

He could feel Hux's heartbeat where he was pressed up against his back. It was slightly elevated - alert but not full of panic. Hux trusted, one way or another, that he was safe. It didn't reassure Kylo. Hux was careful in almost all things but he had become reckless with his own life. He had been since Snoke had died.

 

A strange scraping sound pulled Kylo's attention and he felt ready to move, to deal with any threat and - then it was as if a door had been shut. The presence was completely gone. But for a millisecond, the instant before that had happened, Kylo had felt sure that he had felt  _something._ It wasn't the presence he had felt before - it was something new, a cooler sort of anger than the one he had felt before, and yet,  _familiar_  somehow. 

 

This was troubling. His instinct was to run to Snoke, to seek his guidance, but Snoke was dead by Kylo's own hand. He was his own master now. He would just have to find his way through on his own.

 

_"I think they're gone now. The presence is gone."_

 

_"This isn't much of an assassination attempt," Hux's words came through to Kylo's mind, the tone of sarcasm evident even through thought-speak. "At least this morning, the guy actually took  a shot."_

 

_"Careful, Emperor. The danger may not be over yet."_

 

 _"Aren't I lucky that I have my strong Emperor here to protect me_?" More sarcasm. Fantastic.

* * *

 

The man felt himself being pulled back as if by an invisible force. This was it then. Ren had him. He kicked desperately but it was of no matter, he was being dragged back and back and back. He fumbled for the thermal detonator – the last resort should all other plans fail – and despaired as it flew out of his hand. He could hear it roll uselessly on the floor.

 

Then, like that, he was taken into the light.

 

He blinked, his eyes adjusting. He seemed to be in a supply cupboard of some sort and he was looking not at Ren, but a stormtrooper in shining white armour.

 

“You bring me here to shoot me? Wanted to get your shot in before anyone else got the chance, huh? Bet you’re going to be a real hero amongst your unit,” he spat out, scrambling for a weapon.

 

The trooper moved, not for their gun as he had expected, but to put their hands to their helmet to take it off in one swift movement.

 

He stood there and stared, the mop that he had been about to brandish falling from his hands. No. It couldn’t be.

 

It was.

 

“You’re supposed to be dead,” he said.

 

“And you were about to be if I hadn’t intervened. Now listen to me and let’s do this properly.”

 

He listened.

 

* * *

 

The emergency system powered on and the lights flashed back on. Everyone was in once piece, no sign of injuries, nor of any assassin. The guests looked ruffled, make-up had been smudged, but they were otherwise untouched.

 

Hux looked at Kylo for answers. He looked completely unaffected, not a hair out of place

 

“ _I promise I did sense something but it’s gone.”_

“False alarm!” said Hux, cheerily, holding up a wine glass as if to toast to the remaining guests. “Please carry on with your evening.”

 

 _“I’ll speak with you later.”_ Kylo walked off to find a quiet spot. He needed to concentrate to make sure that nothing else happened that night. It only took one slip from him and it would all be over. 

 

* * *

 

 

Kylo came to their rooms later. He had been following Hux covertly to ensure that his path to the security of their chambers was unhindered.

 

He was exhausted by the time he walked through the door.

 

“There you are,” said Hux. “I know we’re pretending to hate each other but you could have just walked back with me, rather than following me like a schoolboy with a crush.”

 

This was where he’d say something flirtatiously insulting back but he was too burned out to bring himself to say anything.

 

“And you know, if you sensed something you could have just told me directly,” Hux admonished, tapping the side of his head. “You didn’t have to attempt to drag me away like an errant child.” He sighed. “Well, I suppose it’s done now.”

 

“I wasn’t coming to tell you about that,” Kylo admitted, looking up to meet Hux’s eye. “I hadn’t sensed it. I was distracted – I allowed my emotions to cloud my judgement and you were almost killed!” His hand bunched into a fist and a vase shattered into pieces. His eyes widened – surprised, as ever, at his own outburst.

 

Hux put his hand around Kylo’s fist, gently moving to unfurl the fingers. “Nothing happened, you sap. For all we know the power just went out. If it was an assassination attempt, then it was a very poor one. The assassin didn’t even show up.”

 

“I sensed something, once the lights went out. It felt so familiar but I just can’t-”

 

“Like I said, we’re both still alive. That’s the important thing. We’ll implement those plans to tighten security and this won’t happen again,” said Hux. “I’m curious, though. If not the threat of impending assassination, then what was so pressing that you had to drag me away from my _fascinating_ conversation about tax?”

 

“I spoke to Ridal,” Kylo blurted and regretted it. He had just wanted to crawl into bed and forget this but the words had flown out of his mouth before he could do anything to stop them.

 

“I see.” Hux’s tone was neutral.

 

Kylo wasn’t sure how exactly to proceed. There were so many questions, so much he wanted Hux to tell him, that it was hard to narrow it down. “He was telling me about your days in the Academy…”

 

Hux sighed and there was a slight edge of exasperation evident in his voice when he spoke. “He always did talk too much, especially with alcohol in him. What is it you want to ask, exactly?”

 

“He said that you used to go out a lot, that you used to drink and smoke and…”

 

Hux cut through Kylo. “Are you shocked that I’ve slept with men besides you? Is that what this is about? You may have come to me a virgin but I never made any such claim.”

 

“That’s not it!” He had always presumed that Hux had been with others before him, though he hadn’t enjoyed having to think about it so directly. “And I never said I was a virgin either!”

 

Hux snorted. “You didn’t have to say it. It was obvious.”

 

Kylo’s cheeks burned. “That’s not the point! Stop distracting me from the real issue. The point is you never told me anything about your time in the Academy or much of anything really. Don’t you think it was important to mention?”

 

“Why would I tell you what I did as a teenager? It was a different place, a different time. I don’t expect you to tell me everything you did back in Jedi training camp. The past is irrelevant.” 

 

“That was Ben Solo and he is long dead. I killed the last remnant of him when I killed his father and shed the call to the light!” Kylo snarled.

 

“Is Kylo Ren also dead? Snoke gave you that name and you killed him.” There was nothing but ice in Hux's voice. 

 

Kylo clawed his fingers through his hair, feeling power rise up in him, boiling in his blood. He turned away. He would not use it against Hux, however much he might want to. “Stop deflecting! You know everything important about me but it seems I know nothing about you!”

 

“When was I supposed to have done that? In the five minutes between us getting involved and you proposing to me? When you ran off after the wedding night? In between firefighting crises in our Empire? I’m sorry that we haven’t spent enough time sitting around talking about our _feelings_ but in case it has escaped your notice, I’m rather busy!” Hux snapped, finally. 

 

Kylo’s blood ran cold. “Are you saying we rushed this marriage?” His voice came out a lot smaller than he had intended.

 

“Is that even a question? You know we did! You proposed to me in a poor attempt at manipulation and I accepted because I wanted to know what your strategy was. Under normal circumstances, there would be no way that we’d be standing here right now with rings on our fingers.”

 

Kylo wrapped his arms around his chest, all fight knocked out him. The doubts that plagued him pierced through him. He had given up everything. He had sacrificed his master, the one person who had understood him, who had nurtured him since his youth, for Hux and it had all been for nothing. The only reason they were still married was that it was strategically convenient, no doubt.

 

“Turn around,” said Hux.

 

Reluctantly, Kylo did, finding it hard to meet Hux’s eye. He wondered if Hux was going to send him away.

 

“Please don’t look like that,” said Hux.

 

“Like what?” Kylo mumbled. He found himself fixating on the slight wrinkle at the corner of Hux’s eye, avoiding direct contact.

 

Hux stopped, pressing his lips together, clearly considering his words carefully. His hands were shaking. “Like I’ve kicked you.  I’m only stating the obvious. You know my feelings for you – you’re a literal mind-reader. I’m not saying I regret it, simply that we did not have as much time to get to know each other as would be usual, so it’s a little unfair that you accuse me of withholding information just because my old friend couldn’t keep his big mouth shut.”

 

“You’re not exactly forthcoming with personal information. It took you forever for me to learn your first name,” said Kylo, though he did feel somewhat reassured. “And I discovered your thing for me by complete accident – would you ever have said anything if I hadn’t made a move?”

 

“When we first met, you wore a mask all day, every day,” Hux pointed out. “And I don’t know. We hated each other if you recall. It would have been rather imprudent to suddenly make a move on you when I had no idea how you would respond. I don’t have your powers or advantages.”

 

“Ridal told me that you came back from the forest one day and you were covered in bruises, that you were different afterward. What _happened_? You saw everything that Snoke tried to do to me, you’ve seen me weak and begging for the end – you know that you can trust me,” pleaded Kylo. “Let me help you.”

 

Hux looked shaken for the first time and Kylo just wanted to drop it all and just hold him. Guilt twisted within him – he destroyed everything he touched. That’s what he did. He didn’t know why he had thought Hux would be any different. Everything he had said about the proposal had been true after all. He didn’t know why Hux didn’t just dispense with him and rule the Empire alone. It would solve all their problems.

 

“Now you’re kicking _yourself,”_ said Hux. He may not have had mind-reading powers but he knew Kylo eerily well. “Come over here.”

 

Kylo padded over slowly and put himself in Hux’s open arms, burying himself against the warmth of Hux’s chest. He could feel Hux’s mind touching his, could feel love beneath his anger and frustration. He took a deep breath.

 

“I’m just not trained to say what I feel,” said Hux, stroking Kylo’s hair absently.

 

“Do you want to?” asked Kylo, relaxing into the touch. “To say what you feel?”

 

“I don’t know. I’ve worked so hard not to show weakness and it’s served me well.”

 

“Is that why we have to pretend to hate each other? Because it’s easier for you?” said Kylo and he hoped he didn’t sound angry. He just wanted to understand.

 

“No. That’s just a side effect. The decision was strategic, made without emotions clouding my judgement.” He didn’t sound sure though.

 

“You sound like a Jedi,” Kylo muttered. The idea of it the first thing to bring a smile to his lips since they had started arguing – he couldn’t quite picture Hux in the scruffy robes required of a Jedi, nor could he imagine him being satisfied to sit for hours in silent meditation. The lack of activity would probably kill Hux. Thinking about it though had given Kylo an idea. “I could…If it makes it easier, you could share memories mind to mind. Like the way you project. That way you wouldn’t have to say anything.”

 

“No,” said Hux, immediately. “I’d rather have full control of what I’m saying.”

 

“Okay,” said Kylo.

 

“Look.” Hux pulled away but kept his hands on Kylo’s shoulders. “I’m going to go for a walk to clear my head. I’ll talk to you about it when I get back.”

 

“Alright.”

 

He fixed Kylo with a look. “ _Promise_ me you won’t do anything rash in the meanwhile.”

 

Kylo rolled his eyes. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

 

“I’ll see you later then.”

 

Hux stepped out of the room and Kylo flopped on the bed, feeling deflated. He had grown unused to arguments and, though it was over, there was a heavy sense of dread. Those that challenged him, he killed. There was a sense of completion. But this evening, between the argument and the strange, aborted assassination attempt, had been thoroughly unsatisfying.

 

He had felt better in Hux’s arms but he had been bereft as soon as he had left. It was so easy to doubt when he wasn’t around. He looked at the clock. He had been gone a few minutes. His walk could take hours and Kylo was tempted to spend it all just lying on the bed waiting.

 

He forced himself up and took his saber from his belt. He would vanquish invisible enemies, even if the real ones eluded him. The blade swished through the air and he slowly felt his body take over from his mind, moving through kata automatically. He was just an extension of his weapon.

 

Time receded and there was no Kylo. Until. A burst of static like noise rang through his mind and was gone as soon as it had appeared. Kylo snapped back into his body, reaching out with the Force but hearing only silence. He glanced over at the clock. Hours had passed and Hux still was not back.

 

Something was wrong.

 

He rushed out of his room, looking back and forth down the hallway, unsure as to where to go. He couldn’t feel Hux at all.

 

“Sir? Emperor Ren?” a meek voice piped up from the side.

 

Kylo noticed the trooper, standing guard duty, for the first time. “What?”

 

“Do you require assistance?” the trooper offered, nervously.

 

Kylo did a quick scan and found the man was free of malice. “Which way did Emperor Hux go? Quickly!”

 

The trooper pointed. “That way, Emperor, sir!”

 

Kylo moved to make a dash for it, before turning back to the trooper. He had to be smart about this – he had to do what Hux would have done. “Put all units on alert – Emperor Hux may be in danger.”

 

The trooper nodded. “This is HJ-5868 – new command has come through from Emperor Ren. He says to put all troopers on the look-out for Emperor Hux. He may be in danger after all.”

 

Satisfied, Kylo went sprinting down the hallways in the direction HJ-5868 had pointed – he would scour every inch of this place if he had to but he would find Hux.

 

* * *

 

 

Hours later and Kylo was drenched in sweat and no closer to finding Hux. He caught his breath and reached out again, pointlessly. Nothing but silence again.

 

His commlink crackled.

 

He picked it up, lightning fast.

 

“Sir. We have discovered a gap in the security feed in the freight hangar and there’s a ship missing. We think he might have been taken.”

 

Kylo fell to his knees.

 

“Sir? Emperor Ren? Sir?”

 

Notes

I’m sorry, that’s a horrible place to leave the chapter but I couldn’t resist the cliffhanger.

 

If you think what Kylo says and thinks about Snoke is a bit inconsistent from minute to minute then you’re right! Snoke’s been a part of his life for so long, whispering in his ear, warping his mind, I feel that it’d hard for Kylo to have anything but mixed feelings about his death by Kylo’s own hand. I hope that’s coming across alright. I feel like Kylo’s emotions can change so quickly from moment to moment and it’s hard to write sometimes.

 

And of course, HJ-5868 is our boy HaterJ but Kylo doesn’t know him by that name, so he’s not referred to like that here.

 

Comments really are much appreciated and never fail to bring a smile to my face :) Also, I keep forgetting, but you can find me on [tumblr](http://femalespock.tumblr.com/) if you feel like chatting about Kylux (or anything else for that matter)!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo vows to take vengeance on those who have taken Hux; Hux wakes up and sees the faces of his captors.

Warning: there’s the death of a minor character (so minor they don’t have a name) in this chapter.

 

Kylo smacked his fist against the ground. He felt nothing. He brought it down again and again, a scream rising up in his throat and dying on his lips. Power built inside of him, threatening to explode. Desperately, he reached out. Despair overtook him as he felt nothing but void, heard nothing but silence but then – something! It was faint, muffled almost, but unmistakably there.

 

Hux was alive. Hux was alive and nothing would stop him from taking him back and slaughtering those responsible. He got to his feet, his hand at his lightsaber. 

 

“I take it you’ve heard the news,” said Phasma, approaching.

 

“He’s gone. Prepare my ship.”

 

“You can’t just leave. What will it look like if the both of you are gone? You think the vultures won’t strike at any moment of weakness?” Phasma protested. “You can’t just go running off.”

 

“I can’t just leave him!”

 

“What would Hux do?” Phasma asked. “What would he tell you to do if he were here?”

 

The room began to shake, the lights flickering as rage surged through his body. “I don’t care! I’m going to get him and I will kill the one who dared to take him!”

 

Phasma stood there, un-phased. “It’s not my place to stop you from going but may I suggest that we come up with a cover story beforehand.”

 

Kylo felt a dim sense of relief. Of course, she wasn’t stopping him. No-one could stop him. He had killed the only person that had ever had that power over him. “I’ll leave that to you.”

 

“I’m not a politician but just don’t tell anyone else that Hux is gone and make a public appearance looking smug, so anyone that does hear will think it’s all part of the plan.”

 

Kylo nodded, though he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to wait a single more minute to go after Hux. He didn’t want to smile, to look triumphant, when Force-knows what was happening to him. But he knew that Hux wouldn't want to come back to find the Empire he had worked so hard to build in tatters. He would do what Hux would want of him. He closed his eyes for a moment, imagining Hux's face. He wouldn't be scared. He would be looking for a way out. The anger turned from fire to ice in his veins. He would take his time and make them pay in the most excruciating way possible. 

 

“You should take some troopers with you,” Phasma counselled, jolting Kylo from his thoughts. “Not a full unit, just one or two. Just in case.”

 

“I don’t need their help,” said Kylo. “Call in the public appearance – say it’s an announcement about taxation on the Leera fruit.”

 

“Yes, sir!”

 

* * *

 

 

Phasma came back to her office to find HJ-5868 and AJ-2431 standing outside the door. “I didn’t send for you.”

 

“Sir, it might be a coincidence but…” AJ-2431 ventured nervously.

 

“General Phasma, AJ-2431 thinks he may have some information about the events that have transpired,” HJ-5868 stated, cutting across AJ-2431.

 

Phasma sighed. “Come in then. I need to call in a conference first but then you’d better tell me what you know.”

 

The troopers sat there in silence whilst she put in the announcement that Emperor Ren would be calling a meeting, later in the day. She just hoped that Ren could hold it together until then. Emperor Hux was the one with the head for politics, not Ren. They needed Hux back if the Empire was to survive. Finished with the announcement, she turned her attention to her troopers. “What’s this information then?” 

 

Silence.

 

HJ-5868 nudged AJ-2431. “Just tell her. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

 

“There was a new trooper who was just rotated here: FN-9713?” AJ-2431 started.

 

Phasma was well aware of the movements of her troops. “Yes and? Hurry up, there's a lot going on.”

 

“Well, she’s missing. She’s not at her post and, well, before she was asking questions. A lot of questions. No-one’s seen her since the Emperor went missing.”

 

“What kind of questions?”

 

“About the Emperors, sir,” HJ-5868 cut in. “It seemed like gossip to all of us but what if…”

 

“We don’t need to indulge in pointless speculation. What did you tell her, specifically?”

 

“Well, whether there were a lot of assassination attempts for a start,” offered HJ-5868.

 

Phasma shook her head. “Well, that’s just a matter of fact, nothing that our troopers shouldn't know about." There might be information kept back from the public, but the troopers needed to know to be on their guard if attacks could happen at any moment. 

 

“She asked me whether the Emperors were in love,” blurted AJ-2431.

 

“And what did you tell her?”

 

He gulped, audible even beneath the helmet. “I told her that some people thought they might be.”

 

Phasma couldn’t see how any of this was quite relevant to the kidnapping but it was always worth keeping an open mind. “Anything else –  classified technical readouts, the whereabouts of the Emperor?”

 

The shook their heads. “Nothing like that, sir.”

 

She could tell they were frightened, that they (AJ-2431 especially) were worried about what she might do now that they had confessed. Gossip was discouraged by Phasma, precisely for this reason: the slightest slip of information could end up causing disaster. Still, they weren’t traitors. They had come to own up, regardless of the consequences. But she couldn’t let them just get away with this, even if it turned out that they had nothing to do with what had happened. Discipline needed to be maintained.

 

“Alright,” she pronounced, a sudden flash of inspiration hitting her. She could kill two birds with one stone. “You talked to this trooper during rec time, yes?”

 

They nodded.

 

“So there were other troopers present.” She drew up the list on her datapad. “IN-6969 and PY-4561 – correct?”

 

The troopers were silent, unwilling to get their friends in trouble with them, no doubt. “Correct?” she insisted.

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

Phasma smiled beneath the helmet.

 

* * *

 

“In conclusion, for the sake of galactic trade, there will be a 2% decrease in import tax on the Leera Fruit. This change will be effective within one standard month. Let it never be said that the Empire does not provide,” Kylo recited, mechanically. He pumped a fist in the air and most of the crowd did the same.

 

“Emperor Ren, is there any truth to the rumour that your husband, Emperor Hux has been kidnapped, possibly even killed?” a man called out from the crowd.

 

There was a gasp amongst the crowd before silence descended. Kylo could feel all of their eyes upon him. “I would not give credence to rumours,” he bit out, in his best imitation of Hux. His fist clenched up at his side.

 

“It looks a bit odd – him not being here during such an important announcement. Don’t you think?” the same man asked. There was a camera in his hand. So, he was a journalist and a foolish one at that.

 

The news said whatever the Emperors told them it should say. Specifically, whatever Hux told them it should say. And then it hit Kylo - they thought _he_ killed Hux. They thought he did this and they didn't care. Some were regretful that they had picked the wrong side, that they hadn't courted his favour, but they didn’t _care._ Their apathy weighed heavy in the air around him. His blood boiled. 

 

“I don’t have to answer your questions,” he said and snapped the man’s neck with the Force. “I have urgent business to attend to.”

 

He stormed off-stage, untouchable and burning with rage once gain.

 

* * *

 

“That could have gone better,” said Phasma, by way of greeting him.

 

“Is the ship ready?”

 

“It’s prepared, Emperor.” She gestured towards the ship. “Fully equipped. I took the liberty of choosing a select group of troopers to accompany you.”

 

“I’m going alone!” His voice became a low growl. “You have seen how I deal with those who cannot follow orders.”

 

Phasma raised a hand, as though to silence him. She was probably the only one who would dare to do so. “These troopers think they may have known someone involved in the kidnapping. They might be of use to you.”

 

Kylo sighed. “Fine. We’ll leave immediately then.”

 

“Bring him back, sir,” said Phasma, giving a salute. “And take care of my troopers!”

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hux awoke slowly, his vision woozy. Too much to drink – that was his first thought. But the sting in his neck told him otherwise. He’d been walking around his private rock gardens and he’d felt a sudden sharp pain and then, nothing but darkness. Poison dart, his mind supplied, matter of fact.

 

His vision cleared and he was able to scope out the room before him. It was small. The floor was shaking slightly, bumping up and down in a way that made his stomach lurch. They were on a ship then and probably a small ship, guessing from the room’s appearance and the amount of turbulence. The room was drab, all in light greys and browns – designed for function rather than style, though it barely seemed to be succeeding even at that. Some of the panelling looked on the verge of dropping off.

 

Emperor Hux had many enemies. There were many who could have done this but he had to consider the facts: firstly, he wasn’t dead. No, He was tied to a chair on what seemed like a pathetically equipped ship. Not a political rival, he suspected. They would have killed him right off. No, the set up suggested bounty hunter if anything – perhaps someone was looking to sell him off to the highest bidder to do with what they pleased. It wasn’t a pleasant idea but it did buy him time to escape. There was nothing in the bare room that immediately stood out as a weapon but Hux would find a way to make one. He always did.

 

A man rounded the corner of the door and stepped into the room.

 

“You! You’re that prisoner!” exclaimed Hux. So, not a bounty hunter then. This was a personal vendetta. “Well, I suppose you’ve enjoyed our hospitality on a number of occasions, it’s only polite that you return the favour.”

 

This elicited no response from the former-prisoner. He didn’t even blink. “He’s awake,” he shouted to someone after a moment, never taking his eyes off Hux even for a second, as if trying to burn him with the intensity of his stare.

 

The other joined them and this was yet another face he recognised, though they had never met in person. “Former-General Organa, this is a surprise! If you’re looking to give me a wedding present, I have to say you’re several months too late. A shocking breech in etiquette from my mother-in-law – I can see where Kylo gets his lack of manners from.”

 

She pursed her lips and strode over to inspect him. “I would stop the wisecracks if I were you. You are entirely at our mercy and we will make you pay for your crimes against the galaxy.”

 

Hux shook his head, a grin splitting his face. “You don’t understand the error you’ve made. My husband will come for me.”

 

General Organa raised an eyebrow. “You think I don’t know my own son?” She leaned in, close enough that Hux could feel her breath on his face. “I’m counting on it.”

 

Hux saw the family resemblance now– saw the fire burning in her dark eyes - and felt a quiver of fear for the first time since he had been captured.

 

Notes

Sorry this chapter took a little longer than usual (and it’s a short chapter too *sigh*)  – I’ve been caught up in all the excitement of the KBB (read just over half the fics so far) and I’ve moved twice since the last chapter came out, which is always time-consuming.

 

Hope you liked this chapter! Please leave a comment to let me know what you think :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The troopers learn that dealing with an angry Emperor Ren whilst cooped up on a small ship is no easy feat. Hux and Leia discuss ethics.

 

Warnings for a little bit of violence and mistreatment of a prisoner in this chapter

 

 

The journey passed slowly and in excruciating silence. The troopers tried not to look at Emperor Ren or at each other or do anything that seemed like it might set him off. He was sat completely still, his eyes burning a hole in the wall. He got up to input co-ordinates now and again, though none of them knew where he was getting his information from – the Force, presumably.

 

“Phasma said you know something,” Ren said, out of nowhere. He didn’t seem to be aiming his comments at anyone in particular.

 

“The-there was a trooper who deserted her post,” said HaterJ, speaking before any of his fellow troopers had to. It had been bad enough telling Phasma about what had happened and she at least had an even temper to recommend her. Not that HaterJ found Ren any less intimidating than any of the others, but he’d take one for the team: he was, after all, the oldest of them. “FN-9713 or Questions, as we called her because…well, she asked a lot of questions.”

 

“What questions?” Ren asked, through gritted teeth. With his fists bunched up, he looked ready to explode at any moment.

 

“About our friendship group. Just stupid, casual stuff. Nothing technical but in retrospect, it’s kind of like…like she’d never been a trooper before,” said Innuendo, taking over from HaterJ. “She was kind of short too.”

 

“She asked me about you and Emperor Hux. She wanted to know what sort of relationship you had,” Ajay 10 piped up, bravely. “I told her there were conflicting accounts.”

 

“We never told her anything we shouldn’t have,” Yipee added.

 

“And her face?” asked Ren.

 

“We never saw it,” said Yipee. “Like I said, we were following procedures.”

 

Ren stood up. Blinding red light shot from the hilt of his saber. He turned and sliced at a stack of crates. Looks were exchanged through helmets. All were thinking the same thing: they were trapped here, on this rather small ship, with no-where to escape should he turn his rage upon one of them. There was a loud smashing sound; Ajay 10 grabbed onto Innuendo’s arm. Yipee thought she heard a name, muttered under Ren’s breath as he swung, something beginning with an L…Whatever, it was, she wasn’t going to ask.

 

The light flickered out and Ren stood there, breathing heavily. He turned to look at them again, the troopers freezing up under the assault of his dark gaze. “Take your masks off,” he said, quietly.

 

“Sir?” said HaterJ, echoing the confusion of the rest of the troopers. They’d been trained never to take the helmets off unnecessarily.

 

“You heard me,” said Ren. “I want to know who I’m working with.”

 

None of them were in the mood to argue, especially not after seeing a typical display of the Emperor’s temper, so they scrambled to pull them off.

 

Ren surveyed each one, taking in each of their appearances. Ajay 10 had a sweet-looking face, choppy dark hair and equally dark eyes. Yipee’s hair was light brown hair and came down to her chin. She had thin lips and a sharp chin. Innuendo had a strong jaw line and a faded scar running through his left eyebrow. His dark blond hair was asymmetrically parted, flipping over to one side. HaterJ had dark brown skin and short, curly, black hair. He also had a neatly trimmed beard.

 

Ren nodded. “Together we will crush those who dared to steal the Emperor from under our noses.”

 

“Yes, sir!” they said, in unison.

* * *

 

 

“I suppose I only have myself to blame for my predicament,” Hux started, sounding as though he were continuing a conversation, though Leia hadn’t asked him a single thing. “I tried so hard to shoot you down for good but I just couldn’t manage it. Oh well, it earned me favour with your son, enough that he killed Snoke and made me Emperor, so I suppose it wasn’t a complete waste.”

 

“Well, I’m glad you’re happy. Your reign has been rather shorter than Emperor Palpatine’s but as long as you’re satisfied,” Leia replied, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

 

“How did you manage to escape?” Hux continued, conversationally. “Last I saw you, you’re ship was disabled, floating in the middle of space. This is a moderately impressive comeback.”

 

“There’s no reason why I shouldn’t tell you. As you can imagine, I had to try to do the repair job myself. I have plenty of experience but you had almost wrecked the ship beyond repair – almost. I was on the verge of fixing it when one of your ships picked me up – I think the pilot was just as confused about what had happened as I was. Even I hadn’t thought you’d be so low as to turn Starkiller against countless numbers of your own men.”

 

Hux did not bother to tell her that Snoke had been the one to fire on Wayland. “Then what happened?”

 

“I killed the stormtrooper before she could kill me and took her armour. Then I took her ship,” she said. “It was surprisingly easy to infiltrate your Order from there. So I waited until the time was right.”

 

“I must remember to tighten security when I get back,” said Hux, unimpressed. His stomach rumbled and he concealed a frown of annoyance at his body’s own weakness.

 

“It’ll be a while before your next meal, Emperor,” Leia said, unable to resist rubbing it in. For all the evil he had done, he was just a human and completely in her power. “Though even starvation would be far too kind a fate for a man such as you.”

“I thought the Resistance were supposed to be against this sort of thing. At least that’s what you tell everyone,” Hux sneered.

 

Leia shook her head. “You of all people should know: there is no Resistance anymore. There’s just me.”

 

“And you’re back to doing the only thing you knew how to.” Hux tilted his head to one side, a nasty grin splitting his face. “I’ve been following your career for years. You tried to make it in the New Republic but even those snivelling cowards in the Senate wouldn’t have you. The only thing you’ve ever managed is to tear down the work of those who would seek to bring order to the galaxy. The Rebel Alliance? The Resistance? It’s all just an extended teenage rebellion against your father. No wonder your son took him as a role model when this was what he had for a mother.”

 

“You love the sound of your voice so much, perhaps you would have made a better Senator,” said Leia, her jaw twitching slightly at Hux’s reference to her birth father, whom she hardly considered family. But she would not show weakness in front of the prisoner. Words were the only weapon he had but they could not wound her if she didn’t let them. “I have to admit, I’m flattered that you’ve taken such an interest in my career.”

 

“Oh, I had very little choice. My father hates you, you know? My Uncle worked on the first Death Star. It was his first post. He was killed thanks to your little rebellion,” said Hux. He didn’t sound upset at his Uncle’s fate. No, he’d just pulled it out to try to win an argument, as if that was what mattered.

 

Leia had lost more than an Uncle. She lost her mother and her father. She’d lost her entire world. She hit Hux across the face before she could stop herself. “The Death Star killed billions of innocent citizens. You killed even more. I won’t be lectured on ethics by a mass murderer!”

 

Hux smiled even as his cheek turned a stinging pink. “There it is: the family resemblance. If I weren’t already married to your son…”

Leia barely heard him, heaving a deep breath, trying to quell the rising darkness in her. She needed him alive for now. If she killed him now, she’d lose her son forever and there was nothing else left for her now.

 

She could dispense with Hux later.

 

“I’m sure you’ll enjoy your stay with us,” she said, walking off.

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Hey, Yippee,” HaterJ whispered. The four of them had settled into a single room to sleep for the night. They had arranged their bedrolls on the floor – HaterJ was closest to the door, Yippee was next to him, Innuendo next to her, and Ajay 10 was closest to the wall. “I think you were right about the Emperors. Ren’s reaction to all this…I think he really does love Emperor Hux.”

 

“Finally, the denial ends! I don’t want to say I told you so….” Yippee whispered back, sounding smug.

 

“Don’t say it then.”

 

“You don’t think Emperor Ren’s powers include super hearing, do you?” whispered Ajay 10, nervously.

 

“Who ever heard of super hearing?” Innuendo objected.

 

“Just checking.” Ajay 10 sounded reassured. “It would be pretty romantic, how much he cares, if he weren’t so…”

 

“Yeah, that display today…yikes,” agreed Innuendo.

 

“We’ll just have to do our best to reunite them,” Ajay 10 ventured.

 

“Well, I doubt we’ll last long if the mission fails,” added HaterJ, gloomily. 

 

Yipee reached over to nudge him. “Cheer up! We’re great troopers – we’ll get him back and then we’ll cover ourselves in glory, returning as heroes.”

 

Innuendo whispered something to Ajay 10, who gave a laugh under his breath.

 

“Do I even want to know?” sighed HaterJ.

 

“Probably not, knowing Innuendo,” said Yipee, fondly.

 

“Probably not,” Innuendo confirmed.

 

“Let’s just go to sleep,” decided HaterJ. “We’re going to need our rest.”

 

Innuendo snorted and whispered something else to Ajay10.

 

“No whispering!”

 

“Yes, HaterJ,” droned Innuendo.

 

Silence descended over the room. They fell asleep in a matter of minutes, unaware of their Emperor, left unable to sleep in the next room. How could he without Hux next to him?

 

Notes

So far as I’m aware, there’s nothing in canon to suggest that Hux even has an Uncle, let alone one who died on the Death Star. There are some references in this chapter to the events that happened in Bloodlines – basically, Leia was a Senator in the New Republic but had to leave after it was revealed that Darth Vader was her father and that she had kept it a secret from everyone. I hope my characterisation of her in this chapter was okay – she’s walking a pretty dark path at the moment but I hope she’s still recognisably Leia.

Also, it was fun to reveal what my troopers look like! Ajay 10 is the only one that I have a specific fancast for (Osric Chau): <http://www.supernaturalwiki.com/images/b/b2/Osric_chau.jpg>

So if anyone has any ideas for actors for any of the others, based on the descriptions, let me know! (Because it’s always nice to have some visuals to go along with the fic!)

Please leave a comment if you’ve read this to let me know what you think! I really do appreciate every one <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo is frustrated by the lack of progress in the search for Hux and decides to take it out on one of the troopers by revealing a long-kept secret...

The troopers filed nervously into the main room when it came time for breakfast. Emperor Ren was sitting at the console, imputing co-ordinates. His hair was a tangled mess. Upon their entry, he turned, revealing a waxy complexion and red-ringed eyes. Had he been a weaker man, the troopers might have pitied him but even, or perhaps especially, like this he was a very dangerous man.

 

He turned back again and adjusted the flight path again, muttering under his breath. 

 

“Do you – do you know where he is, Emperor Ren?” asked Yippee, though she suspected that he didn’t. Still, she was curious to know whether the Force really did allow him to hone in on Hux like he had a tracking device planted on him. The whole mystic side of things was really outside anything she or the other troopers was trained in.

 

“No,” Kylo bit out and she realised instantly that it was the wrong question to ask. He stood and faced them, peering at each of them in turn, his movements jerky. “Maybe I could sleep, instead of being kept up by the constant noise you all seem to insist upon, I would find him faster!”

 

“I told you he had super hearing,” hissed Ajay 10 under his breath. 

 

“You!” exclaimed Kylo, turning his gaze to look right at him, like a predator locking onto his prey. “You’ve got a secret. Something you’re concealing anything.”

 

“N-no, Emperor,” stammered Ajay 10. “Please. We’re sorry.”

 

Kylo continued, undeterred, his hand hovering in the air, pressing into Ajay 10’s mind. “It’s right here on the surface: IN-6969 or Innuendo as you call him…you have _feelings_ for him. How sweet to think that any of you are anything more than cogs in the machine of our Empire.”

 

Blood rushed to Ajay 10’s face. He struggled for words but there seemed to be nothing to say.

 

“Of course, Emperor, we understand our place,” HaterJ stepped in, holding his breath a little. He hoped this would work. “If it pleases you, we’ll go back to quarters and leave you to your important work.”

 

“Go.”

 

They all scrambled away, HaterJ grabbing some ration bars on the way out.

 

* * *

 

Kylo paced around the small open area the ship had to offer, feeling caged up like an animal. Lashing out at the trooper had given him a moment of satisfaction but it had done nothing to soothe the sheer irritation that bubbled beneath his skin. He wanted to kill. He wanted his hands around Leia's neck. 

 

Without Hux, he just felt off, like the entire universe was tilting back and forth without a balance to be found. Light and dark separated within him again and they clawed at each other and him. Automatically he cast his mind out and felt only the faintest connection to Hux. It was all he had been able to feel since he had left. No words could pass between them, nor could any real sense of emotion. There was just a flicker of energy that let him know that he was alive and located somewhere close enough.

 

His mind was hollowed out, empty. There was nothing but his own thoughts echoing around his head and he wanted desperately to burn them out. He wanted to reach out for guidance but there was no guidance to be found. Snoke was gone. He shouldn’t miss him. He’d controlled Kylo his entire life, invaded every part of his mind, made him a puppet to dance at his will in return for praise calculated to give him just enough hope to tide him over. Snoke had tried to take Kylo’s love from him and he had paid the price, just as Leia would now.

 

But still, he missed him or at least the certainty that came with obeying an order.

 

In a last ditch attempt, he reached out to the knights again, imploring them to heed his call and return to his side in his hour of need. His whole body drooped as he heard nothing but gaping silence. It had been a long shot, he knew. They were most likely dead. It was not beyond the realm of possibility that Snoke had bound the knights to him and that they had fallen the moment Kylo’s blade had sliced through Snoke’s flesh.

 

He felt defeat wrap around him like a damp blanket, the weight of it killing the strength in his limbs, extinguishing his anger. There was nothing. Nothing but despair. 

 

* * *

 

Ajay 10 ventured a glance across the room where Innuendo and Yippee were sitting. Innuendo was furiously playing a game where you had to rearrange the blocks of a cube so that all sides were marked with only a single colour. His face was furrowed up into a frown, his shoulders held in an angry posture.

 

“He hates me,” Ajay 10 pronounced, turning to HaterJ. “He won’t even look at me.”

 

HaterJ shrugged, feeling helpless to offer any advice. This was so completely outside his realm of experience; a trooper’s life was a solitary life after all. Still, Ajay 10 looked so utterly crushed, he felt he had to say _something_ to make him feel better. “He doesn’t hate you - he’s just a bit surprised is all and no doubt worried about what Emperor Ren’s going to do with this information. Romance is against the rules after all. It wouldn’t do for him to act too friendly with you now or the return journey could have you both heading straight for reconditioning.”

 

“I don’t think Emperor Ren really cares about the rules,” protested Ajay 10 and then stopped, remembering that the Emperor could more than likely hear them. 

 

“Maybe not but you can’t blame Innuendo for being afraid.” The entire experience of being alone on a ship with Emperor Ren was fraught with danger and HaterJ just wanted it over with one way or another.

 

Ajay 10 looked over again. Yippee was whispering something into Innuendo’s ear. He was scowling. He wondered if he’d ever get close enough to whisper to him again. He started as Innuendo got up abruptly and walked over, holding his body stiffly.

 

“Can we talk somewhere? Alone, that is.”

 

“Where?” Ajay 10 blurted. “Ren’s out there and…”

 

Innuendo considered this, his jaw clenched. “The engine room.”

 

The engine room would be boiling but Ajay 10 saw no other option: it was time to get this over with. Maybe with some conversation, they could go back to the way things were. “Okay.”

 

Ajay 10 regretted it the moment they had both stepped into the engine room. Not only was it extremely hot but it was cramped enough that they each had to press their bodies up against the opposite wall to prevent from touching one another. A long moment of awkward silence stretched out in front of them before it became clear that Innuendo had no intention of starting the conversation. 

 

“Sooo…” Ajay 10 started. “Listen. About what Emperor Ren said – I know you don’t feel that way about me and I’ll testify as much if it does get reported. They won’t send you to reconditioning for my sake, I can promise you that! I wouldn’t want to do anything to hurt you and-” he stopped, abruptly running out of steam under Innuendo’s stare. “Could you please just say something? You’re my best friend. I don’t want to lose you. I know you're angry but-”

 

Innuendo shuffled across the room and abruptly pulled Ajay 10 into a hug. The sweltering heat of the room made the contact uncomfortable but he found himself clinging onto him regardless, comforted by the physical contact.

 

“Are you going to explain anything or…?” he asked, his voice sounding muffled against the material of his undershirt. 

 

They pulled back. Innuendo flipped his hair over to the side – a sure sign of nervousness. “I’m sorry if you thought…I didn’t mean to make you think I was angry or anything. I just wasn’t prepared to deal with this now.”

 

Ajay 10 felt his stomach plummet. “You don’t have to deal with anything. Just pretend the Emperor didn’t say anything and we can be friends like always. I never had any expectations that you’d want anything more.”

 

There was a long pause before Innuendo spoke again, his voice very quiet. “But what if I do want that?”

 

He was sure he must have misheard or misunderstood. “What?”

 

“I do…I do like you but it’s just...”

 

“Just?”

 

“I don’t exactly live up to my name. I know I make a lot of off-colour jokes but I haven’t actually…done anything. I just don’t want to be a disappointment to you.” Innuendo looked away, fiddling with his hair again.

 

Ajay 10 felt the oddest urge to laugh - but he knew Innuendo wouldn't appreciate it right now - it was just that he knew more than anyone what a trooper's life was like and, even more than that, he knew _Innuendo_. “I haven’t exactly done anything either. It’s in the rules. I mean, I like your jokes but that’s not _why_ I like you. You're brave and caring and sweet - you're my best friend!”  

 

Innuendo nodded, looking unsure. "I think you're much sweeter than me, " he mumbled. 

 

“Do you want to maybe give this a go?” Ajay 10 ventured. “We could just, you know, take it slow. Like one of those novels set in olden day Arkanis.”

 

“Yeah, I think I’d like that…” Innuendo blushed, biting his lip. “Do you think maybe I could hold your hand?”

 

“Um, yeah! That’s a nice idea.” Ajay 10 offered his hand.

 

Innuendo pressed his up against it, fussing for a few moments about how to hold it – whether to grasp his fingers around the side of his hand or whether to interlock the fingers, eventually settling on the latter. Ajay 10’s palm was slicked with sweat and he was shaking slightly but it felt right somehow, to be doing this. Innuendo swung their hands a little, trying to avoid hitting something crucial in the narrow space. “Is this what we’re, supposed to do?”

 

“I think I’m supposed to kiss you? Like maybe on the cheek?” He tried to sound casual but his heart was hammering. Romance novels mentioned nerves but they’d somehow never conveyed just bad it was. He didn’t even get this nervous before battle because at least he had trained for that. There was no training for this.

 

“Go for it,” said Innuendo shakily.

 

Ajay 10 leaned forward, brushing his lips up against the stubble on Innuendo’s cheek. They were so close, his mouth just inches from Innuendo’s. One day it might be nice to kiss him there to but it was too much for now. He pulled back. “How was that?”

 

“That was very nice!” squeaked Innuendo. “We should probably get back to the others now but maybe next time I could kiss you?”

 

Ajay 10 blushed at the thought of a next time. “I would like that.” Dimly a part of him wondered how they were going to keep this a secret but he was too happy to care. Emperor Ren knew everything anyway; might as well grab this whilst they still lived. 

 

* * *

 

“They’ve been gone a long time,” said HaterJ, frowning. “You don’t think they’re fighting?”

 

Yippee laughed and it sounded clear and true. “No, I don’t think so. They’ve got a lot to talk about.”

 

HaterJ squinted at her. “What do you know?”

 

“Why do you assume I know something?” She put on an innocent-looking face. She was good at facial expressions for a trooper. Spending so much time under the helmet had its effect: half the troopers wore their faces like masks, stiff and expressionless; the other half had faces that displayed everything, the troopers unaware of how much was given away without the mask to shield their face.

 

“You always know. You knew about the Emperors, even when that seemed unlikely,” he said.

 

“Well…”

 

The door cracked open and their two, very red-faced, friends walked through, sitting down next to each other. Innuendo passed Ajay 10 the cube game and the two of them started strategising on how best to solve it. 

 

“Do I want to ask what they have been doing to get so red in the face?” whispered HaterJ, none too subtly.

 

“Nope!” shouted Innuendo cheerfully from across the room.

 

HaterJ and Yippee traded looks. Everything was back to normal, then.

 

 

* * *

 

Kylo had not stopped pacing. The spikes of emotion coming off the troopers had been irritating and so he’d had a momentary distraction in working to block them out but now he was just stuck with his own thoughts. There had to be a way, something he’d not thought of…

 

Kylo froze in place, inspiration striking like lightning. Meditating like he had when he was a padawan, lonely for his mother…well, that might work. He couldn’t find Hux but a family member and a fellow Force-sensitive…that would be far easier, even across the expanse of space. He’d tried to keep himself clean of his old ways, sealed the family bond as best he could, but he would use anything he had to to get to Hux. He would shed Kylo and become Ben if he had to. He didn’t think it would come to that.

 

But he would be cutting it close.

 

He crossed his legs and tried to imagine all his feelings draining away into space, negativity seeping out of him until he was left in a clean state. He imagined Leia, his mother…and found anger building in him once again as he thought of what his enemy had done. He stopped again, trying to thrust the images away. He needed Ben’s memories, not his own. He closed his eyes, thinking back a few years to the day he had received a call, a voice message explaining why she had lied…No! Not that one. He searched for something else – she had his arms around him, she was whispering something into her hair. She was telling him he would be better off with his Uncle….

 

Kylo let out a cry of frustration. Was there not one memory of his mother that wasn’t tainted with her deception? But for Hux he would try again, one last time.

 

He screwed up his face, trying to push himself back, back, back. He felt a childlike bliss settle over him as brief moments flickered through his mind – her coming home after a long absence and picking him up, telling him that he was her brave boy, that she would always love him, no matter what he did…That she would be with him, even when she was away and he felt it truly, the warm thread that connected them through the Force. It had been there all along. He just hadn’t seen…

 

His eyes shot open. He knew exactly where Hux was.

 

Notes

I swear sweet/awkward stormtrooper romance wasn’t originally such a big thing when I was planning this story but uh, yeah, this happened. I hope no-one minds; I just enjoy writing these characters more than I initially intended and it seemed kind of fun to explore what a romance would look like between two characters who, due to the circumstances of their training, have lacked any real romantic experience and have only novels, holo-vids and the example of the Emperors to follow (and let's be real, I love Kylux but they're not a great model for a 'normal' relationship). I’m sorry there’s no Hux in this chapter but he’ll definitely be in the next one.

 

Anyways, if you read this, please leave a comment to let me know what you thought! Feedback really does keep the motivation up to keep writing <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux tries to find a method of escape.

Warning: mistreatment of a prisoner

 

Hux wasn’t sure how long he had been away from Kylo or even how long he had been off the ship. He had seen daylight for but a few minutes before being manhandled into some kind of drab and dusty house. He had no notion of what planet he was even on, his brain trying to calculate where they logically could have gotten to within the time span but finding it impossible because, again, he had no idea how much time had passed. He didn’t even know whether it was night or day. There were no windows in the cell-like room. It was almost like being on the Finalizer but for the fact he was bound and completely unable to move for hours on end (he and Kylo had admittedly experimented with bondage from time to time but this really wasn’t the same).

 

General Organa and the other one (Dameron, Hux thought his name was) came in now and again, always together. Dameron was responsible for his general ‘welfare’ if he could call it that. He allowed Hux just the bare minimum of water needed to keep him alive, Hux finding himself sucking up every last drop of each meagre offering through the proffered straw. No food was forthcoming but Hux had long since stopped feeling the hunger. Most humiliatingly, Dameron also had the dubious honour of unzipping him so that he could piss in a bucket rather than all over himself.

 

All things considered, the conditions were less than he was accustomed to but certainly not any worse than the ones he reserved for his prisoners.

 

Not that it made it any easier.

 

As for General Organa, she did nothing. She just sat there and watched him carefully as if looking for something. Perhaps she sought nothing more than his pure humiliation, as revenge for his supposed crimes, or perhaps she expected him to make some kind of turnaround, for him to abandon his ideals and offer to join the remnants of her rebellion. The latter was out of the question and he tried not to give her the former. He had long stretches of time in which he was left alone and he used much of that time to craft speeches to spit at her the next time she appeared. There were so many angles to choose from and he had given her a taste of each. But no matter what he threw at her (whether it be boasts of Starkiller or graphic descriptions of all the things he had done with her son), she remained unmoved, her rage contained inside her.

 

He had long since given up on provoking her again. She had hit him once and only once. Still, he continued because what else was there to do? It kept his mind active and he liked to think he was doing damage, even if she didn’t show it. He knew what it was like to wear the rank of General, to mask his emotions in front of the galaxy.

 

Sometimes he found his thoughts wandering. Fantasies of Kylo rushing in to save him - how he would take him away from all this and bring him back to the softness of their shared bed - flitted through his mind but he did his best to push them away. He had no doubt that Kylo would come for him, it was not in his nature to hesitate when something was taken from him, but he would not rely on that fact. He was determined he was going to get out of there himself before Kylo even had the chance to show up.

 

The problem was, there was no obvious method of escape and the world beyond the doors was a complete mystery to him. He had tried to slip questions into his rants, fishing for any information about the house or the planet that might help him, but Organa was letting nothing go. There was also the issue of how to escape his restraints. He had tested them repeatedly but seemed no way of escape and his strength had been rather sapped by the lack of food, dizzy spells overtaking him now and again.

 

He wouldn’t give up, though. Maybe there wasn’t an easy way out but that just meant he had to try harder. He hadn’t become Emperor because of his pretty face.

 

The door swung open, disrupting his thoughts, revealing Dameron. Dameron walked toward him, holding not water nor the bucket but a blaster. He was alone for once.

 

“Is General Organa bored of me already? It really is no wonder that Kylo left her if this is the kind of treatment she extends to family,” he said, trying to ignore the erratic beating of his heart at the sight of the blaster.

 

“The General is too soft. You’re a monster who doesn’t deserve mercy. I’m going to do the galaxy a favour before you have the chance to escape justice again.” There was a wild glint in his eye, something almost feverish about the way that he looked.

 

“Well isn’t this noble of you – shooting an unarmed prisoner whose limbs are completely bound. I’m sure you’ll have a beautiful story to tell about the skill it took to make a shot even a toddler couldn’t miss,” Hux said, a bit too loudly.

 

Dameron did not flinch. “I’ll give you a moment to consider your last words.”

 

“How generous,” Hux muttered. No point playing nice. If he was going to die, he would die knowing that he never capitulated to the enemy. That he had never begged.

 

“I know how you love the sound of your own voice,” spat Dameron. “And it’s more than you ever gave Finn or Rey.”

 

“I preferred it when you were our prisoner,” said Hux. “If you’re going to kill me just do it now. I have lost patience with your sense of theatrics.”

 

“Alright then, Emperor.” Dameron grasped Hux by the hair, pushing the tip of the blaster up against his head.

 

Hux didn’t close his eyes. If he was going to die now, he would face the reality of it. A distant part of his mind was still running scenarios, searching for any escape route possible, but it had all felt academic since the moment the blaster touched his skull. His breathing had slowed, the hopeless kind of peace washing over him. This had always been coming to him. He had been marked for death years ago and he’d had a good run considering.

 

He only hoped that Kylo would be alright without him, that he would be able to handle the Empire on his own from now on. They had built so much together, created an island of stability in a lawless galaxy. It would be a good legacy if it lasted.

 

Everything happened quickly. There was a loud pop as the door came flying off its hinges and Hux coughed as a sudden cloud of dust flew up on his face. The pressure against the back of his head vanished. He heard a single shot and then the clattering of a blaster sliding across the floor and a dull thud of a body. Water filled his eyes and he itched to rub them. Curse his bound hands! He blinked instead, looking up towards the source of the noise, his brain unable to fully process the sounds.

 

He squinted up at the silhouette before him, the light from outside making his form seem ever more shadowy, and he realised that he knew this face.

 

“It’s about time,” he said. His voice sounded hoarse to his own ears. He could only imagine what he looked like – a wreck, most likely. 

 

“I’m going to kill my mother for this,” Kylo said. 

 

* * *

 

 

Notes: That’s it for this chapter! Hope you enjoyed it :)

 

As ever, please leave a comment to let me know what you think! I really do appreciate every comment I get <3


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kylo confronts Leia over her kidnapping of Hux. Hux has an unexpected reaction to watching them fight. Someone gets shot.

Warnings: violence, injury 

 

“I’m going to kill my mother for this,” said Kylo, releasing Hux and helping him out of the chair.

“I’m surprised. I thought you had completely disowned me,” a soft voice came from behind them.

Their two heads whirled to look at General Organa, standing in the doorway, a blaster in her hands.

“This is a strange greeting of a mother to a son: a blaster pointed at your only child. I think you’ve done some disowning of your own,” said Kylo, his voice shaking a little – with anger rather than fear, Hux thought.

“I love you but you killed my husband.” Her face was filled with pain but Hux felt no sympathy for his captor.

“So you tried to kill mine.” He gave a grin laced with malice. “But you can say hello to yours soon.”

“You’re not going to kill me,” said Organa, head held high. She gestured to Poe’s crumpled form, lying on the ground. “You didn’t kill him. You’ve stopped wearing that infernal mask. There’s _good_ in you, I know feel it.”

“I just didn’t have time to kill him yet. Time’s up now.”

He held out his hand as though to Force-pull the blaster from his mother’s hand. Nothing happened.

“It runs in the family.” She stretched her arms open. “Won’t you come home?”

Kylo’s eyes bulged. He paused for just a second and Hux could have sworn that he heard his thoughts. Then he lunged with sheer animal ferocity, tackling his mother to the ground, wresting the blaster from her hands with force. A shot went off as he did, hitting the sprinkler mechanism across the side of the room. Jets of water burst from the ceiling. The rest of it happened so fast. Organa was on the floor. Kylo towered above her. She cowered in his shadow, trying to find the words to stop him. Hux’s heart pounded, limbs quaking from the lack of movement. Everything felt off, unreal somehow, like stepping back into a memory.

“You’re my son,” she begged. Desperation, nothing but desperation in her voice.

Hux could hear the sound of rain. The water was soaking through his clothes, weighing him down. Panic rose up in him like vomit. The room lurched. His limbs jangled with the need to just move without possessing the ability to do so. He was only half here, the rest of him was elsewhere... He went just to breathe but out of his mouth came a scream: “No, stop!”

Kylo froze, turning his head to look at Hux with wide dark eyes. It was a moment too long. Organa struck at Kylo’s ankles, reaching to grab for the blaster. Kylo held tight, tumbling on top of her. Neither Kylo nor Organa let go, each scrambling to get a hold of it and then…

The sound of blaster fire. A scream of pain.

Hux’s heart stopped. Time froze around him, the room seemingly draining off all colour. There was nothing, nothing but pale grey rain. Distantly, he saw Kylo, Kylo moving. Thrashing in pain? Had he done this? How could this be real?

He heard a slight wail from behind the two of them and saw that there was a trooper on the ground, another by his side and two more with guns pointed at Kylo and Organa. It took a moment for his brain to put it together. Relief burst within him and there was a rush of sound and colour as everything seemed to snap back into place. It was just a trooper, just a trooper who’d been shot.

Kylo got the upper hand again, subduing his mother, pointing the blaster at her head. He hesitated, seemingly thinking of something to say, something to mark the moment. Hux screwed his eyes shut, unable to watch. He started as he felt the touch of something cold against his skull. He took a sharp intake of breath.

His eyes flew open and he found himself staring into the cold eyes of Poe Dameron. “Call your husband off or I’ll finish what I started.”

Hux said nothing. Two Stormtroopers pointed their blasters towards him. “If you shoot the Emperor, we shoot you,” said one.

“But he’ll still be dead, won’t he?” sneered Dameron. “I’m expendable. Should have died a long time ago.”

Kylo looked at Dameron but did not raise the gun. Everyone was still, no-one daring to move.

“You kill him and you really have lost me,” Kylo warned Organa.

Her face said she knew it was a ploy but nevertheless she looked to Dameron. “An exchange,” she suggested, wearily. “Bring us both forward and make an exchange.”

“Fine,” said Kylo and Hux could hear the anger bubbling beneath the surface. He didn’t put it past him to do something rash, not at all.

Dameron held Hux in place (not that he was in much state to resist) and circled around him, now placing the tip of the blaster against the back of Hux’s head. He gripped Hux’s neck and jostled him forward and Hux could see Kylo do the same with Organa. He held his breath as they made the exchange, stumbling back into Kylo’s warm arms. A sob rose within him but he beat it down.

Numbly, he heard another blaster shot. The lights blew out. Kylo gave a yell of frustration. There was a scramble and moments later there was a weak bluish light – one of the Stormtroopers had turned on their torch – but it was too late: Dameron and Organa were both gone.

“They’re on their ship,” said Kylo, his body sagging. “We’ve lost them.”

Distantly, Hux knew he would be frustrated by this later but he could feel none of it now. He could feel nothing but sheer overwhelming exhaustion. Kylo looked at him and Hux could feel the question in his eyes. Hux turned his face away. The next thing he felt was Kylo’s strong arms swooping to pick him up, cradling him in bridal style. It was an indignity, he supposed, but this entire ordeal had left him with precious little dignity regardless. He leant his face into Kylo’s chest, enjoying the warmth for the time being. Kylo strode on, like Hux weighed nothing, taking Hux to their own ship.

He laid Hux down onto a bed, shouting back to the Stormtroopers to take off back for home. “Do you want to change out of these wet clothes?”

Hux nodded, pulling his shirt off – he wasn’t going to let Kylo do that for him, not in this context – accepting the warm and dry one from Kylo’s hands a moment later. He did the same with his trousers, struggling to take them off, the sodden fabric clinging to his body. Eventually, he managed to free himself from their prison, taking off his underwear with strange shame too. He’d never wanted to be this person in front of Kylo, so pale and weak. His legs looked twig-like to his own eyes. He tried not to seem too eager to re-clothe himself but he was sure he had snatched the fresh trousers right out of Kylo’s hands.

When he was done, Kylo divested himself of his own robes, letting them fall to the ground in a messy heap. Hux could hear the troopers fussing over their injured friend in the other room, trying to reassure him. Flawed programming, he thought vaguely. Kylo redressed quickly, pulling on a near identical outfit.

Kylo went to the store of food and ripped open a nutrition packet, mixing it with water to make a sludgy beige drink. He stuck a straw in it and brought it up to Hux’s lips. He’d been fed that way far too often but he took it anyway. After all, he couldn’t talk if he was drinking. Compared to the coming indignity, this was nothing. The taste was bitter in his mouth.

He finished it slowly, his face warm under Kylo’s unwavering gaze. When he was done, he wiped his mouth before Kylo even had the chance to.

Kylo set the cup aside. “Do you want to tell me what that was all about?”

Notes

Sorry it’s been so long since I last updated this! I got a job and I’ve had a lot less time to write. Tbh, I was also kind of worried about writing this chapter since it’s quite action-packed and action isn’t really my forte.

Also, since I came up with this whole ‘verse before certain things about Hux’s backstory came out, it’s going to veer from the canon established in the books a bit, btw.

If you’re still reading this fic, please leave a comment! I really love to hear from readers :) Also, would anyone like to take a guess at which trooper got shot? Hux doesn’t know their names, so he has no idea either.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hux tells Kylo what happened to him the night he came back to the Academy soaking wet and covered in bruises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See endnotes for warnings.  
> Warning: there is a flashback with some violence and death in this chapter. There’s also a brief moment that can be seen as victim-blaming.

Hux looked at the ceiling. “What was what was about?”

“Hux, I know that you know what I mean,” Kylo said, softly. “I know you too well.”

“Right.” There was something hollow about his voice.

Kylo breathed in and out for a moment, swallowing anger. Just hours ago he’d been warring with the possibility that they’d be permanently parted, he could deal with a bit of obstinacy on Hux’s part. Just about. If Hux was going to pretend he didn’t know what Kylo meant, he was going to have to ask directly: “Answer the question: why did you tell me to stop? Why did you tell me not to kill my mother.”

Hux looked as pale as paper, his eyes burning with regret. “I’m sorry that I stopped you.” 

“That’s not-” Kylo stopped, trying to find the words. He had stopped Hux from killing his mother and in return, she had come after Hux. He had wanted her dead today. If Hux hadn’t stopped him, he would have struck her down and he’d be free from the past. If Hux hadn’t stopped him… “Just _why_? Why let our enemy live?”

Hux flinched at the anger in Kylo’s tone. “It wasn’t about her.”

“You didn’t do this for me.” Kylo shook his head. “I wanted her dead. I needed her dead.”

“I-”

“When I told you not to shoot her before that was weakness.” The anger turned inward, echoing endlessly through him. Every mistake rippled through his life, refusing to be forgotten. Would he ever be able to move on? “I need to rely on your strength. You can’t allow your feelings for me to blind you to what needs to be done.” It felt wrong saying it. Hux had always been the one to warn _him_ about the dangers of letting emotions guide him but here they were. He'd grown to depend on Hux's clarity of vision so much that without it, he felt adrift. 

Hux stared into space, saying nothing. His arms were wrapped around his body, which seemed to have shrunk to almost nothing.

Kylo breathed in and out, allowing the anger to dissipate, a strange cold terror coming over him instead. “Hux? I’m sorry, I just…Why won’t you just speak?”

There was silence. Hux pursed his lips, blinking his eyes quickly as though about to cry.

“I’m sorry. You’ve been through a lot, you’re still fragile…”

“Fragile,” Hux repeated under his breath. “Yes, fragile.” There was a muffled scream from the next room and he flinched at the sound of it.

“Hux?”

“I suppose it’s time to tell the truth. It reminded me of something. Something from the past.” His lips felt numb as he spoke the words. “You wanted to know about me, about what I was like at the Academy, well I suppose I have to tell you. Well, as you’ve heard I was a bit uncontrollable in those days…”

 

_Hux angled his face closer to the mirror, carefully lining his lower lash-line with gold. He pursed his lips as he inspected it. The effect was pretty, giving his pale eyes warmth they usually lacked, but altogether too subtle. He reached for his eye-shadow pallet. Levering out the brush, he swirled it around in the purple powder and swept the colour over his left eyelid. He repeated the process and coated the other eyelid. Gaudy. So gaudy. Perfect._

_He stood up out of the chair, inspecting his appearance in the mirror. The combination of plain black uniform trousers with a screamingly bright pink vest top was probably his best yet. He could slip into his tight leather trousers and disappear amongst all the other club kids but this made his position unmistakable. He grabbed his uniform jacket and his cigarettes, lighting one up as he left the room._

_Ridal, who was coming from the opposite direction, ran up to him in a hurry. “Are you really going to walk out here dressed like that?” He dropped his voice to a hiss. “What happened to our secret way out?”_

_Hux shrugged. “Nothing. I just feel like walking out of the main entrance.” Then he walked away._

_There was a flurry of whispers as he walked through the halls, cadets wrinkling their noses in confusion – some at the strange appearance of Cadet Hux, others surprised that he was displaying this side of himself so openly. Surely he’d lost the plot?_

_Hux didn’t care what they had to say. He wasn’t doing for them._

_He had almost gotten to the exit when he heard his father bellow: “Armitage!”_

_The curl of a smile on his lips. It was time._

 

“Wait, why would he call you Armitage? You told me your name was William.”

Hux pursed his lips, looking down.

“Oh.” It was a small thing, such a small thing, but it bit at him like any other betrayal. They’d been trapped in a small room together for hours and Kylo had asked Hux’s name. Reluctantly, Hux had given it to him: William. Kylo had always thought of that night as the first time he and Hux had connected beyond just sex. The night they had truly begun. Now he knew it was a lie. Once again, his memories were being rearranged, everything he had thought he had known slipping through his fingers.

“William is my middle name,” said Hux, quickly. “I don’t like it, not really, but I hate Armitage. I’m sure you understand.”

Kylo shook his head a little, refusing to take the emotional bait. “So what happened then?” he said, no emotion in his voice, like this was an interrogation. What was the point of this story? 

“I turned around…”

 

_Hux spun on his head, grinning from ear to ear. “Father. Have you come to say goodbye? I’m just taking some leisure time. You’re welcome to join me but I doubt the frequenters of the establishment are quite to your taste. No kitchen maids, I'm afraid.”_

_“You will address me as Commandant Hux.” Flicks of spit sprayed as he yelled. “And you’re not going anywhere, especially not dressed like that. You’re a disgrace to the uniform. You look like one of them.”_

“A Republican, he meant,” Hux explained, no expression on his face.

_“Sorry, father, I’m in a bit of a rush. I’ll see you later,” he said, turning his back on him._

_“Come back here!”_

_But Hux was gone, pushing through the doors as fast as he could, the sound of awed gasps from his classmates ringing in his ears._

“I wondered if anyone would come after me but no-one did. I stayed out for hours, drank a little, made out with an attractive brunet but my heart wasn’t really in it.”

Kylo twitched with jealousy. “Why did you go then? Was it all just some act of teenage rebellion?”

Hux shrugged. “It was a test.”

 

_Tired and bored, Hux stumbled home late at night, wondering what was waiting for him. Expulsion, he expected, but there was a part of him that hoped…_

_He kept walking, trying to keep his mind clear of doubts. It was too late to turn back. Something in him had compelled him to see this through, to risk destruction for the sake of knowledge. There was nothing to throw away. Not really. The Empire would never rise again, his place in its ranks was meaningless._

_The moon was high in the sky, full and shining with a yellow light even through the blanket of heavy grey clouds. It cast an eerie glow on everything, a dim light that seemed to suggest figures hidden just out of sight. There was the crackle of leaves under Hux’s feet as he walked the familiar paths and each sound was like violence to the still and silent night air. There was a slight rumble and without warning, the sky released a sudden splatter of rain on his head._

_Hux cursed the Arkanis weather and sped his steps, forcing his aching legs forward, forward. Rainwater dripped into his eyes and ears and mouth. He swiped uselessly at his face and his fingers came back purple and black. Oh, right. The make-up. Cold cut him to the bone, as the water soaked through uniform and civilian clothing alike. He pushed himself to a run now, struggling against the wet weight of the trousers and his near-state of blindness._

_He had slowed down to futilely try to button up his jacket, the cold of the raining numbing his fingers to the point he could barely feel the buttons, when he heard a crackle of sound. Stopping dead, he looked up, all his senses on alert but he saw nothing in the darkness around him. Nothing at all. He breathed a sigh of relief. He was just being paranoid._

_Then something from the corner of his eye. He spun around but it was too late to avoid the blow to his shoulder. He found himself plunging to the cold ground, hitting the gravel, grappling with a dark weight on top of him. Gritting his teeth he grabbed at the hands grasping for his throat, digging his nails into the flesh of their hands._

_There was a groan but they didn’t let up, striking at his face. He attempted to roll sideways but he found himself pinned down. He kicked up, hitting nothing but air. The assailant pushed his head down against the path and pain reverberated from the point where it had hit._

_Hux kicked again, getting them right in the crotch. There was a delayed scream and Hux capitalised as best he could, rolling them over onto the ground, drawing the knife from his sleeve and drawing it to their throat. He knew this face._

_“Well, are you going to let him get away with that?” He knew that voice._

_Hux’s eyes flew up and he was greeted by a kick in the face. His hand jerked. There was gurgling sound but Hux barely registered it as he was kicked back again. Stumbling, he got back up and lunged at the attacker, a larger boy. One of his father’s favourites._

_The boy would not be moved, digging his heels into the ground. Hux dizzied as he found himself pushed to the ground again, water splashing as he made impact, adrenaline and pain spiking through him all at once. Everything in him ached. The boy kicked him in the ribs and Hux spluttered._

_Where was his knife? It had been knocked from his hands. Gone._

_The boy kicked him again. White spots danced before Hux’s eyes as pain exploded through his body._

_He was going to die._

_He didn’t want to die._

_In a surge of sudden energy, he grabbed at the foot, biting his teeth into the soft skin of the ankle._

_“Arghhh.”_

_Hux pulled the boy down, scrambling on top of him. He elbowed him the in the face and watched as blood bloomed from his nose. He struck again with his elbow. And again. The boy struggled. Out of the corner of his eye, Hux saw the glint of something metallic. He grabbed his knife and struck the decisive blow._

_He closed his eyes, the horror of it washing over him, only opened them again at the sound of clapping._

_“An adequate performance. Consider this your one warning, cadet.”_

_Hux looked up and saw his father towering over him, his figure impossibly imposing. He choked back a sob as he looked at him._

_He didn’t offer Hux a hand, just grabbed him up and pulled him back along the path. The rain continued to attack Hux, beating down on his bruised and bloodied face, but he couldn’t feel it. He couldn’t feel anything._

 

“He was testing you?” Snoke had given him many such a test. They'd split him in two. They'd made him stronger. Both. 

“He was trying to kill me,” said Hux, mouth set in a line. “There was a secret group of cadets at the academy, his favourites. The only way in was to kill another student.” He shrugged. “When I won, he decided I was worthy after all and I was the one who joined.”

Kylo jolted. Memories of Luke, brandishing his lightsaber high, the light burning through the air, flashed before his eyes. His uncle had looked like a mad-giant that night. “Why didn’t you _leave_?”

“And go where?” Hux asked.

Kylo stood. “Anywhere! How could you just…” His hands balled into fists. “How could you submit to that?” He could feel the heat of the blade on his face, even now. If he hadn't woken exactly when he had...

“I didn’t have a choice!” Hux’s eyes flashed. “I became the perfect soldier because I knew it was the only way…”

Kylo blinked. “And your father?”

“Dead.”

“You.”

“Yes.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” It came out an anguished plea. Hux had known what he had done. Hux knew how killing his father had torn him apart and he’d said nothing. Nothing. He’d let Kylo suffer with the pain alone. He hadn't let Kylo know him. Not in the entire time they'd been together. 

“I felt nothing when I killed him,” said Hux, eyes far away, his face guarded. “He had failed the test long ago.”

The test? Hux had mentioned that before and it seemed important but he couldn’t quite make sense of it. “What test?”

Hux lowered his voice, sounding ashamed for the first time. “The test…the test to see if he...if he loved me. If he had a use for me as a son, not just a cadet.” He pushed his hair out of his eyes, the gesture unnaturally casual set against the sight of his colourless face and quivering lip. 

Kylo felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces for him. “Hux…”

“It was a gift really, to know that I was alone, that I couldn’t depend on anyone else.”

“Were you testing me? When you’d suggest I couldn’t trust Snoke, when you’d hint at rebellion…” Kylo blurted, his mouth ahead of his brain.

Hux was deathly silent.

Oh.

He tried to push aside his hurt, grabbing Hux’s hands with his own. “Hux, I hope you know how much I-”

He was cut off by a loud bang. The ship veered to the side.

What the hell was that?

The commlink crackled to life and the panicked voice. “Emperor, it appeared out of nowhere.”

“What is it?” he hissed, jarred by the interruption.

“A ship. We’ve been picked up by a bigger ship.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a difficult chapter to write. In some ways, I've been waiting to write it since I started the fic - I felt that Hux came across a little flat in Focus, so I wanted to give him more depth and backstory - but in other ways, I've been dreading it because it's so heavy (I feel totally emotionally drained after writing this, tbh). I hope people don't hate my depiction of Kylo too much - he and Hux are both such damaged people and, despite his love and concern for Hux, he can't filtering Hux's experiences through the lens of his own (if that makes sense). He thought he knew exactly who Hux was, so finding out that he was misinterpreting him in the past feels kind of like a betrayal to him. It's the wrong reaction to someone telling a story like that but hopefully, it's understandable from a character perspective. They've got some issues to work through in future chapters. 
> 
> Also, Hux's backstory was planned from the start of this fic (as far as his father standing over him after Hux's attempted murder via cadets), so it's a weirdly fitting coincidence that there was a parallel in the Luke&Ben scene in TLJ. That's part of why Kylo reacts badly to the story too because he's always seen Hux as strong but he just can't understand his decision to stay at the Academy (because he can't imagine staying with Luke after that incident).
> 
> Sorry for the ramble. I promise that things will get better for the characters before the fic ends. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read or commented on this fic. It's been a ridiculously long time since the last update and everyone has been encouraging & patient with me <3 Please let me know what you think about this latest chapter!


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